According to Logan Maistry of the Department of Correctional Services, the department is advocating for alternatives to incarceration.
They want judges to have the option of sentencing criminals to community-based programmes, where they receive treatment, education and employment training, under strict supervision of law enforcement officers.
Maistry says the department is not trying to be soft on crime, and not saying criminals should not pay for their crimes, but want this project to be one of the various options available for judges when sentencing criminals, especially for minor offences, such as shoplifting and other minor offences.
“Such people are non-violent offenders who personally need to be shown that everyone must follow the rules. In other words, they need to be deterred from further violations of law.
“Keeping low-risk, non-violent, drug-involved offenders out of prison or jail, while still holding them accountable and ensuring the safety of our communities, can save public funds, reduce crime and reduce recidivism,” says Maistry.
This programme includes an electronic monitoring devices being tagged on the offender’s ankles with an instrument that looks like a watch.
Offenders will be given a communication tool that resembles a cellphone, which they can’t use to phone, but the control room can communicate with them.
Electronic monitoring enables offenders to be monitored, 24-hours a day, and seven-days a week.
The offender may continue to be part of his or her family, and continue to be employed and support his or her family.
This also reduces the challenges associated with reintegration. Should an offender commit any violation, alerts will be transmitted.
Interference with the equipment will be electronically relayed to the control room.
If these programmes are successful, the criminal will be reformed and become a successful member of their community. If it fails, the judge can return them to the prison system.
According to Maistry, offenders under this programme will also be tested for drugs and alcohol on a regular basis.
According to a press statement issued by the DCS, a correctional services delegation has recently returned from New York after studying the monitoring of offenders, to consolidate a best-practice model for South Africa.
In the US, the Alternative to Incarceration Programmes (ATI) is an integral part of the strategy to reduce crime, reduce prison populations and the rate of recidivism.
Instead of sentencing someone to jail or prison, their ATI allows a judge to sentence someone to a programme where they receive treatment, education and employment training in the community under strict supervision.
If people do not succeed in these programmes, the court still has the option of sentencing them to incarceration.
Their ATI programmes have brought good news for those concerned about the rate of incarceration, crime and recidivism in the US.
New York managed to reduce both crime and imprisonment simultaneously over the past couple of years.
In South Africa, there are less than 120 000 beds available for inmates, but at present, the South African inmate population including remand detainees stands at approximately 152 000.
Faced with a number like this, the department is beginning to understand that simply locking people up is no solution.
